Playing soccer in Peshawar, Pakistan: from left to right,
Hamayun Hamdard, Qasim Attar and Edrees Kakar.

World Cup a kick for fans everywhere

By Edrees Kakar

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Football,
also known as soccer, is considered the king of sports, with more fans than any
other.

Now, the eyes of the world – not
to mention television cameras and radio microphones – are on the king’s main
event, the World Cup, which started June 9 in Germany.

Since the first football World
Cup in 1930 in Uruguay, the tournament has come to different parts of the globe
every four years, and now is gathering teams from 32 nations from six continents
of the globe, each with huge hopes and preparations.

People from different parts of
the world attend World Cup games in the hosting country, and others wait in
their home countries to watch the matches on television.

As the situation in my native
Afghanistan is better this year than in previous World Cups and football is the
most popular game in the country, the Afghan people counted the days until the
start of the World Cup.

The recent tournament in Kabul,
in which five football clubs from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan
took part, freshened interest in the worldwide tournament.

In the regional tournament, the
Afghan club Arman Kabul emerged as leaders. It was Afghanistan’s great
achievement after years of war.

For the current World Cup, Afghan
national television, with two popular private channels from inside the country,
have scheduled live broadcasts of World Cup games with commentary in Afghan
languages, making it easier for viewers there.

Before the tournament began,
Afghan youths selected their favorite team and set about challenging friends and
mates to see who could predict the winner.

Even in Pakistan, where most of
the population loves cricket, their national television still broadcasts the
World Cup games regularly. That shows interest in the games in Pakistan, and
leads me to believe that football has massive fans in each country of the world.

Many young Afghans are closely
following the World Cup matches. The Tattoo’s Pakistan-based Edrees Kakar
recently spoke with three fellow Afghans about the sport and its top tournament.
Interviewed were Abdul Wakil Arghandiwal of Kabul, Afghanistan, the former
goalkeeper of Afghanistan’s national football team and a member of the
Afghanistan Football Federation; Sanaullah Sahibzada, 20, living in Peshawar,
Pakistan and Ishaq Allozai, 22, of Kabul.

The Tattoo:
How do you
feel about the World Cup?

Abdul Wakil Arghandiwal:

It is a great event in the world
and a very nice time for the people of the world to enjoy themselves by watching
football, making friends from different parts of the world and understanding
about different cultures as well. It also brings the people of the world closer.

Ishaq Allozai:

I feel very great and am waiting
for it patiently.

Sanaullah Sahibzada:

The World Cup is the most
important and popular event in the sporting world.

The Tattoo:
How much
interest do the Afghan people have in the World Cup?

Sanaullah Sahibzada:

It seems like 80 percent of
Afghan youth are interested for football and wait with great interest for the
World Cup. Most of these youths will even stay up very late at night to watch
the football games as they’re broadcast live from other time zones.

The Tattoo: How are those who cannot watch the World Cup as it
comes only once every four years – and for some is the biggest event in sports?

Ishaq Allozai:

They are unlucky to miss this
major event in the world of sports.

The Tattoo:
Why is
Afghanistan not in the World Cup today since football is the most popular game
in the country?

Sanaullah Sahibzada:

We had a strong national team in
Asia about 25 years ago, but decades of war robbed all professional fields of
talent, including football.

The Tattoo:
How
do you feel about Afghanistan not being a part of the World Cup and what you
think about Afghan football?

Abdul Wakil Arghandiwal:

I will be really
glad if Afghanistan has a chance to appear in the World Cup, but people
understand that Afghanistan is in a position to concentrate more on other
aspects of life such as security and reconstruction rather than their immediate
appearance in the World Cup.

Ishaq Allozai:

It will be a proud feeling if
Afghanistan would one day be in the World Cup. And Afghan football needs more
and more time to be in the World Cup.

The Tattoo:
Do you think
the world cup brings footballers together to improve their own nation’s
football, and if so, how?

Abdul Wakil Arghandiwal:

As the World Cup
football games are the most important football matches for a team and player, so
the teams from different parts of the world who gather try to show the best they
can offer. Of course, that is a great chance for all the players to learn from
each other. World Cups always increase the quality of football.

Ishaq Allozai:

Yes, of course. For the World
Cup, every footballer tries hard and practices hard and trying and practicing
makes everything improve.

The Tattoo:
What will be
the outcome of this World Cup besides a single champion nation?

Ishaq Allozai:

The outcome will be great
popularity and pride for their nation.

The Tattoo:
Will the
impression of this World Cup bring improvement to Afghan football and encourage
more youth to play the game?

Abdul Wakil Arghandiwal:

Afghanistan’s people have always
loved sports and they are brave enough for any sport, so after decades of war,
now Afghan people, especially the youth, will have a good chance to choose the
right sport for them. Of course, this World Cup will get more young Afghans
involved, which hopefully will be a good development for the country.

Ishaq Allozai:

Yes it brings improvements to
Afghan football and encourages youth because Afghanistan’s TV channels bring the
World Cup live and Afghan people have more chances than before to watch this
World Cup.

The Tattoo:
What can be
the feelings of the majority population in Afghanistan who don't have access to
electricity and have a lot of interest in the game?

Abdul Wakil Arghandiwal:

Well, of course
it is a huge matter in Afghanistan which needs time to solve. It will really
reduce the chance of improvement in Afghan football, as people who cannot watch
the games will loose their interest.

Ishaq Allozai:

It will be a great disappointment
for them. It is like your every favorite food is on the table but you’re on a
diet.

The Tattoo:
Will it be an
enjoyable month for Afghan youths who’ve been waiting for the World Cup?

Ishaq Allozai:

Yes it will be a very enjoyable
month for Afghan youths and footballers.

The Tattoo:
Does the Afghan Football Federation prepare any kind of team
gathering during the World Cup with its coaches?

Abdul Wakil Arghandiwal:

They are about
to prepare a youth team who will be participating in this event as a guest with
Afghanistan’s German coach and two other officials from the Afghan Football
Federation.

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